Coilee for coiling strip material



Aug. 3, 1965 Filed Jan. 26, 1962 H. L. F. BOND COILER FOR COILING STRIP MATERIAL 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 lNvENToR H.L.F. BOND 24 GWMZA ATTORNEY 3, 1965 H. L. F. BOND 3,198,455

COILER FOR GOILING STRIP MATERIAL Filed Jan. 26. 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 EXPANSIBLE /MANDREL INVENTOR HLFBOND BY/L7Q 7724;;

AT TORNEY 1965 H. L. F. BOND 3,193,455

COILER FOR COILING STRIP MATERIAL Filed Jan. 26, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 lNvEN'roR H.L E BOND ATTORNEY United States Patent 0 3,198,455 COILER FOR COILING STRIP MATERIAL Harry Laurence Fred Bond, Shefiield, Yorkshire, England, assignor to Davy and United Engineering Company Limited, Sheflield, Yorkshire, England, a company of Great Britain Filed Jan. 26, 1962, Ser. No. 169,058 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Feb. 8, 1961, 4,672/61 6 Claims. (Cl. 24272.1)

This invention relates to coilers for coiling, moving, elongate material such as metal strip issuing from a continuous hot rolling mill. The coiler comprises, in part, a mandrel on which the elongate material is wrapped, and, in which the mandrel is usually designed to be radially expansible and collapsible, so that during coiling it can be expanded to obtain a firm coil and after the coil is formed, it can be collapsed, thereby enabling the coil to be slid off the mandrel.

The expanding mechanism for the mandrel is normally operated, as shown for example in FIGURE 1 of U.S. Patent No. 2,936,132 which issued to J. A. Tracy on May 10, 1960, by a rod which passes through both the driving shaft for the mandrel and the gear box of the mandrel drive. However, such an arrangement has the disadvantage that whenever maintenance work on the mandrel or the expanding mechanism is required, the gear wheel on the mandrel shaft must be removed from the gear box. Another limitation of existing mandrels is found in the fact that the thrust force, generated by the expanding mechanism must be provided for by the incorporation of thrust bearings which results in addition al expenses and maintenance.

In accordance with the present invention, a coiler is provided comprising an expansible mandrel having a mandrel drive shaft, means carried by the drive shaft for effecting expansion and collapse of the mandrel, those means being such that any thrust force produced on operation thereof is contained within the drive shaft, and a disengagable coupling for coupling the mandrel drive shaft from the gear box of the mandrel. Because the thrust force is contained within the drive shaft, there is no thrust force applied to the shaft bearings, and the use of thrust bearings is obviated. Also, the disengagable coupling avoids the need of removing the output or driven gear Wheel from the gear box when maintenance work on the mandrel is required; instead, the disengagable coupling is broken and the mandrel and mandrel shaft is withdrawn without interfering with the gear box.

In a preferred form of the invention, the coiler com- I prises an expansible mandrel having a mandrel drive shaft, a gear box having input and output shafts, a disengagable coupling connecting the mandrel drive shaft and the output shaft of the gear box, hydraulically operated means within the mandrel shaft for effecting expansion and collapse of the mandrel, and passages through the output shaft of the gear box for supplying liquid under pressure to the hydraulically operated means. By using hydraulically operated means for operating the expansion mechanism, it is possible to use a removable coupling connecting the fluid passages through the output shaft to the operating means; as a result, the mandrel shaft can be isolated from the gear box, when maintenance is required.

The invention will be more readily understood from the following description of a coiler mandrel and its drive, and in accordance therewith, reference is made to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of the mandrel and drive,

FIGURE 2 is a section on the line II-II of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 is a section on the line IIIIII of FIG- URE 2, and

ice

FIGURE 4 is an axial section, in enlarged scale, taken on lines IV-IV of FIGURE 2 showing the flexible coupling and the hydraulic means of FIGURE 2.

With reference to FIGURES l, 2 and 3, the mandrel of the coiler is shown at 12. The expansion mechanism of the mandrel is not illustrated because it is well known per se, and a description thereof is not deemed essential for a complete understanding of the present invention. The mandrel 12 is carried on its driving shaft 13 which is supported in bearings 14, 15, carried in turn by a supporting structure 35, which also carries the four wrapper roll motors 36. The wrapper rolls themselves, and the remainder of the coiler, are not shown in the drawings, but it will be understood that they are located around the mandrel 12. The mandrel shaft 13 is driven by a motor 17 through a gear box 16. As seen in FIGURE 1, the shaft 37 of the motor 17 is coupled to the driving gear 38 of the gear box and, at the other side of gear box 16, to a brake 40. A gear 38 drives the driven gear 41 through an idler gear 42. The gear 41 is carried on a shaft 21 which is coupled through a flexible coupling 20, best shown in FIGURE 4, to a housing 18 which is secured to the adjacent end of mandrel shaft 13 and functions as a part thereof. The coupling 20 is of the type which can be relatively easily disengaged.

As shown in FIGURE 4, the housing 18 includes a cylindrical cavity or recess 22 coaxial with shaft 13 and contains a piston 23 to which is secured a rod 24. The rod 24 passes centrally through the shaft 13 and enters the mandrel 12 to operate the expansion mechanism, not shown. Passages .25, 26 open two opposite axial extremities of the cylindrical cavity 22 and communicate with flexible pipes 27, 28 respectively, which bridge the releasable coupling 20 and which are located within a cover 43 around the coupling 20. The pipes 27, 28 are connected at their opposite ends to passages 19 provided in the gear box shaft 21. These passages terminate at the end of shaft 21 opposite the coupling 20 and communicate with the stationary outlet ports 44 of a fluid transfer housing 45 secured and rotatable with that end.

The rod 24 is shown in FIGURE 4 in its retracted position which corresponds to the collapsed state of mandrel 12. When it is desired to expand the mandrel, hydraulic fluid under pressure is supplied through the appropriate port 44 and the communicating passage 19 in shaft 21 to the pipe 28 and to the gear box end of the cylindrical cavity 22. Consequently, the piston 23 is forced toward the right, as one views FIGURE 2, causing the rod 24 to move to the right and operate the expansion mechanism. Collapsing of the mandrel is similarly effected by cutting off the supply of liquid to the pipe 28 and, instead, supplying liquid under pressure to the pipe 27 and to the right-hand end of the cylindrical cavity 22. In view of the fact that the operating mechanism for expanding and collapsing the mandrel (the piston 23 operating in the cylindrical cavity 22) is carried entirely by the mandrel drive shaft, operation of the rod 24 is effected without applying any thrust forces to the bearings 14, 15; consequently, these bearings are not thrust bearings.

As best shown in FIGURE 2, a pin 30 located in a diametrical hole provided in the shaft 13 is rigidly secured to the rod 24 and carries, externally of the shaft 13, a contact ring 31, In the retracted position the contact ring 31 engages an annular contact member 32, whereas, when the rod 24 is displaced to the right, the contact ring 31 is disengaged from the contact member 32. This mechanism is provided so as to enable an electrical indication to be given of the position of the rod 24 in the shaft 13 and it may also be used to operate contactors for the motor 17, such that the motor 17 will be de-energized whenever the mandrel is collapsed by movement of the rod 24 to the left.

When the mandrel 12 is to be removed for maintenance purposes, the shaft 13 is disconnected from the gear box shaft 21 by breaking the coupling 20 and disconnecting the flexible pipes 27, 28. The mandrel 12 and shaft 13 is then removed without affecting the gear box 16. If required, a new mandrel with its own shaft and mechanism for operating the rod 24 may be substituted, again without the need of altering the gear box 16, such as by substituting a new gear on the shaft 21. Time is therefore not wasted in meshing a new gear wheel 41 to the existing idler gear 42.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle and operation of my invention and have illustrated and described what I consider to represent the best embodiment thereof. However, I desire to have it understood that Within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

1. A coiler comprising an expansible mandrel having a mandrel drive shaft;

a gear box having input and output shafts;

a disengagable coup-ling connecting the mandrel drive shaft to the output shaft of the gear box;

hydraulically operated means carried by the mandrel shaft for rotation therewith for effecting expansion and collapse of the mandrel; and

passages through the output shaft of the gear box for supplying fluid under pressure to the hydraulically operated means.

2. A coiler according to claim 1 in which the output shaft of the gear box protrudes at each end thereof from said gear box, one end of said output shaft being connected to said disengageable coupling; and

a fluid transfer housing is secured to and rotatable with said other protruding end,

said passages communicating with said fluid transfer housing.

3. A coiler according to claim 1 including disconnectable pipes located adjacent said disengagable coupling; and

said pipes communicating with said hydraulically operated means and said passages.

4. A coiler according to claim 1, in which the hydraulically operated means comprises an operating rod extending within the mandrel drive shaft, and a piston-andcylinder arrangement connected between the mandrel drive shaft and the operating rod.

5. A coiler according to claim 1 in which the hydraulically operated means comprises a piston;

a cylindrical recess within said mandrel drive shaft;

said piston slidably arranged Within said recess;

an operating rod secured to the piston and extending within said mandrel drive shaft to said mandrel; and

said passages in the output shaft of the gear box communicating with the opposite ends of said recess.

6. A coiler comprising an expansible mandrel having a mandrel drive shaft;

driving means;

a gear box having an input shaft connected to said driving means and an output shaft having passages therein;

a disengageable coupling connecting said mandrel drive shaft to said output shaft;

an operating rod for effecting expansion and collapse of said mandrel slidably arranged in said mandrel drive shaft;

an hydraulically operated means located within said mandrel drive shaft and connected to said operating rod; and

removable pipes external to said coupling and connecting said passages to said hydraulically operating means.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,241,669 5/41 McConnell 242-72.1 2,256,400 9/41 Matthews 242-72 X 2,351,894 6/44 Allardt 242-721 2,598,398 5/52 Littell et al. 24272.1 2,922,593 1/60 Greenberger 24272.1

RUSSELL C. MADER, Primary Examiner.

JOSEPH P. STRIZAK, MERVIN STEIN, Examiners. 

1. A COLIER COMPRISING AN EXPANSIBLE MANDREL HAVING A MANDREL DRIVE SHAFT; A GEAR BOX HAVING INPUT AND OUTPUT SHAFTS; A DISENGAGABLE COUPLING CONNECTING THE MANDREL DRIVE SHAFT TO THE OUTPUT SHAFT OF THE GEAR BOX; HYDRAULICALLY OPERATED MEANS CARRIED BY THE MANDREL SHAFT OR ROTATION THEREWITH FOR EFFECTING EXPANSION AND COLLAPSE OF THE MANDREL; AND PASSAGES THEROUGH THE OUTPUT SHAFT OF THE GEAR BOX FOR SUPPLYING FLUID UNDER PRESSURE TO THE HYDRAULICALLY OPERATED MEANS. 